Published on October 29, 2024
What you need to know
Have kids? The Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account can help you save on taxes while paying for eligible child care expenses. Have a body? The Health Care Flexible Spending Account can do the same thing when you pay for eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses. More saving. Less taxing. What’s not to love?
Dependent Care FSA
- Your pretax contributions—choose from $100 to $5,000 a year—are deducted from your regular paychecks.
- Get reimbursed for dependent care expenses incurred while you and your spouse/partner are at work or attending school full-time.
- Eligible expenses include day care, after-school care, and summer day camp for children under age 13, or care for adult dependents who are unable to care for themselves.
- You’ll forfeit any funds remaining in your account if you haven’t used them by December 31.
Health Care FSA
- Your pretax contributions are deducted from your regular paychecks:
- 2024: Choose from $100 to $3,050.
- 2025: Choose from $100 to $3,300.
- Get reimbursed for your and your covered dependents’ eligible health care expenses, including medical deductibles, doctor’s office visits, prescription drug copays—even the unpaid portion of a dental or vision claim.
- Note: Members of the Cigna or Kaiser Smart Plan can also participate in a Dependent Care or Limited Purpose FSA. With a Limited Purpose FSA, you can only use funds on eligible dental and vision expenses until you meet your medical plan deductible, at which point you can also use it for medical and prescription drug expenses. Just make sure to let Benepass know when you meet your deductible.
- Per the IRS, domestic partners’ expenses aren’t eligible for the Health Care FSA.
- Plan carefully. There's a limit to the amount you can carry over to the next year.
- You can roll over $640 from 2024 into 2025.
- You can roll over $660 from 2025 into 2026.
Tech power
You can handle almost anything FSA-related via the Benepass mobile app or website. The Benepass platform allows you to request a physical Benepass debit card, request reimbursement in under 30 seconds if you paid from a different account, and track your balance. The app even tells you what’s eligible for reimbursement.